There’s no arguing the fact that a clear view of the road is essential for safe truck driving. Clean windows, good headlights that are properly aligned, effective defrosters, and good wiper blades are all essential for seeing the road. However, let’s not forget your eyesight, without which, the condition of your lights, windows, defrosters, and wiper blades won’t matter. Under federal regulations, drivers must have at least 20/40 vision in each eye. Your vision must meet this requirement either with, or without corrective lenses.
If you started truck driving as a young adult, know that your good vision won’t last forever. Most people will experience far-sighted vision when they become middle-aged at around age forty. You will know this is happening when fine print becomes difficult to read. Reading a map under the dim light of your cab at night will also become increasingly difficult.
You may have noticed older people holding printed text at arm’s length. These are far-sighted individuals who either don’t have access to their glasses, or stubbornly refuse to acknowledge their condition by not getting glasses or eye contacts.
Not acknowledging this problem places yourself and the driving public at risk until you’re forced to get corrective lenses in order to pass the eye test when renewing your CDL. When you experience vision difficulties, see an eye doctor and fix the problem. Wearing a stylish pair of glasses is preferable to getting into an accident and dealing with its consequences, which include higher rig insurance rates.
Presbyopia
This age-related farsightedness is called Presbyopia, in which the lens of the eye loses its elasticity because of the aging process. Loss of elasticity makes the lens less flexible, which prevents it from reshaping itself sufficiently for focusing on close objects. In other words, the lens simply can’t bend light sufficiently to bring close objects into focus. Glasses or contacts will compensate for this by bending the light further.
Although eye contacts preserve your natural appearance, they are “high maintenance” compared to owning a pair of glasses. To avoid eye infections, contacts must be kept clean. In addition, you shouldn’t sleep with them on, and your eyes will require rest periods or recovery time from wearing them. Of course, the choice of wearing glasses or eye contacts is yours.
For more information and advice, contact us at J.E.B. Insurance Services, LLC. We provide rig insurance in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa & Nebraska.
